


A New Life

by Leni



Series: A New Life [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Reality, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-12
Updated: 2016-07-12
Packaged: 2018-07-23 13:49:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7465797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leni/pseuds/Leni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Belle crosses over the townline, the curse turns her automatically into Lacey French.</p><p>All Lacey had ever wanted was to leave town and travel to the big city. Little does she know that life in New York will hold a big surprise for her (even if she can't remember who the father is).</p>
            </blockquote>





	A New Life

**Author's Note:**

> anonymous asked:
> 
> Belle fell over the town line, forgot her identity, and ran but she didn't know she was pregnant. Emma and Gold find "Lacey" in NYC, but she doesn't get why this man likes her---she's just a barfly who doesn't even know who got her pregnant. Right?
> 
> \- at [Rumbelle Prompts](http://rumbelleprompts.tumblr.com/)

Really. People in the city could be so rude. 

"What are you staring at?" Lacey snapped, making the eyes of the couple who'd walked into the diner where she worked drag up to her face. To her annoyance, the guy's glance hadn't been fixed on her boobs - which had just gotten bigger, which meant bigger tips if Lacey did things right (and Lacey always knew how to do those things right), and were about the only good thing that had happened to her in the last three months. 

Instead he'd been staring at her belly.

The apron covered the bump pretty well, and most days she could pretend she'd just gained a little weight, but she was getting the feeling that this guy knew it wasn't only the couple extra donuts she'd had for lunch that made her uniform cling too snugly to her body.

He went so pale that even Lacey felt alarmed. His companion must have noticed too, because she quickly pulled up a chair. 

The guy sat down on it heavily. "You are..." He closed his mouth. Shook his head. Wet his lips and glanced her over again. "You really are."

Lacey had seen plenty of bizarre behavior in her time in New York, but this had to take the cake. At least the other crazies had the decency to keep to their own worlds instead of stumbling into hers. "Yes, I'm pregnant." The words still felt foreign to her, but she'd figured out that denial wouldn't serve in this case. Since she'd decided to see this through - and wasn't that her typical devil-may-care recklessness showing through, when she wasn't sure what she'd live on next month? - she might as well start getting used to the idea. Acceptance being the first step and all that shit. "So, yeah, baby on board, the bun's in the oven, the stork's coming for a visit. Happy now?"

He kept staring, big brown eyes unblinking.

Lacey looked over at the blonde who'd come with him for help, but the other woman just shrugged.

"O-kay. So I'm pregnant and you're a weirdo. But are you gonna order, or should I call Karl to show you the way out?"

It seemed unfair to threaten an older guy with a cane with the six-foot-ten cook who'd come swinging at any signal from her. In this part of town, they didn't hire him for his half-done hamburgers and oversalted fries. His ability with a knife was Karl's sterling quality.

The stranger gave a firm shake of his head. "I'm not going anywhere," he said.

Lacey shrugged. "In that case, I recommend the chocolate cake," she said as she took out notepad and pen from her apron pocket. "It's actually pretty good, but most importantly it's about the only thing we actually have at this time of day.."

"No. I want to talk. To you," he clarified.

Lacey blinked. Finally considering that engaging the obviously disturbed man hadn't been her best idea. "Um... I don't think so." She wouldn't turn her back on the couple, but she still took a step away. "I fact, I need to-"

The blonde interrupted her. "Belle. Wait, please."

Lacey knit her brow in confusion. She looked to her right, then to her left to make sure that some woman named Belle wasn't standing next to her. "You're talking to me?"

The blonde sighed. "That would be too easy." She brought up her hand to rub her forehead, then took a deep breath. "Look, do you remember Storybrooke?"

"Do I!" Lacey snorted. "Couldn't run fast enough as soon as I saved enough money to live here." And once in New York, she'd run through her savings in a third of the time she'd expected them to last, which had led to her taking this glamorous job that obliged her to engage the crazy people that walked in, instead of ignoring them as they deserved. Then something occurred to her. "Hey, my dad's all right, right?"

The blonde blinked at the question, but the guy nodded. "I assure you that Mr. French is in good health," he said.

"And amazingly enough, in a single piece," the woman added.

Lacey felt her eyes widen.

"I mean, he's doing great. Really. You know,... 'In a single piece'."

Lacey breathed in relief. She had hated the little town she'd grown up with, but her father was a different story. He'd never liked her choices in life, from holding off college indefinitely to her earning money at the pool table, but Lacey was reasonably sure that it was because the old man wanted the best for her.

She just had never been interested in 'best' when she could have 'fun'. She'd thrown away the sensible options and instead embraced whatever could pass for adventure in Storybrooke.

After arriving in New York, she'd dropped all contact with her dad. She hadn't _meant_ to, but there were so many new things to try in the big city that she kept pushing off that call home. Then she'd been surprised by the unexpected little guest housing in her uterus, and just hadn't been able to pick up the phone ever since. Every other day she considered calling her dad with the news that he'd be a grandfather before the year was out, but she always talked herself out of it. If she called, he would offer her a place to live, and Lacey was afraid she'd be too tempted by the security of a real home and a steadier job at the flower shop to resist.

She'd try it on her own. She _had_ to, or she wouldn't be able to live with herself.

She hadn't claimed independence her whole life, swearing to follow her own path and make her own choices, to fold at the first big hurdle in her way.

"Okay. So you're... like my dad's friends?"

The blonde let a laugh escape. "Yeah, Moe French and Mr. Gold." She waved to the seated man. "They're so close!"

So this was Mr. Gold. Lacey hadn't recognized him - he looked much thinner than she remembered, and she didn't think anyone would think him capable of such an open expression.

The blonde was still chuckling, and since Lacey had never heard her father say a kind word about his landlord - there had even been some huge misunderstanding a few months before she'd left town, though now Lacey only had the haziest memories about that - it must be some kind of joke at Gold's expense.

"You remember me," Gold said, ignoring his companion's mirth. Those brown eyes seemed to warm infinitesimally, but then his mouth twisted into a resemblance of a smile... if smiles had that bitter turn. "But of course. Everybody knows of Mr. Gold in Storybrooke."

Lacey nodded. "Just to be clear, I don't owe you anything."

For some reason, that made him wince. "No," he said slowly, "you certainly do not."

"Then, no offense, but what the hell are you doing here?"

He _flinched_.

Lacey reconsidered her tone, but it was too late to take back the question. Besides, she couldn't stand around chatting with customers who hadn't ordered as much as a coffee.

The blonde was the one who answered. "We came to see you, Miss French," she said, holding out her hand and shrugging easily when Lacey didn't take it. "You might have heard of me as well. Sheriff Swan?"

Lacey had to nod. She couldn't remember ever crossing ways with this woman, but of course she'd heard of her. The story of the Mayor's son dragging his birth mother into town had made the rounds even at the Rabbit Hole. People who usually cared for nothing but their favorite spot at the bar were suddenly debating the merits of the two candidates running for replace the dead Sheriff. Lacey hadn't really paid attention to the details, as she was uninterested in the local news, but now she wished she'd listened better to the stories about Emma Swan.

"Is this about the tickets I left unpaid? Because this seems like ridiculously obsessive dedication to the job, Sheriff."

"No, I'm not here for... wait. You left town without paying---?" A soft cough from Gold interrupted her. The sheriff shook her head, but let the matter drop. "I mean, we were in town, and we decided to come see if you were doing okay."

Lacey didn't buy that for a second. "How did you know where I worked?"

"I'm good at finding people," the sheriff answered.

"Everything okay over there!" a deep voice bellowed, making the three of them turn toward the kitchen. Emma's eyebrows raised, but she didn't react. It was Mr. Gold's expression that darkened, and his hands wrapped around his cane as if keeping himself from using them for something more sinister.

Lacey held back a chuckle at the idea of this man confronting another so much his superior, but as she studied Gold's face, she decided that amusement might not be the correct reaction. He looked confident that he could take twenty men double his size, if he needed to.

Lacey barely kept herself from leaning toward him in appreciation.

"That's Karl, I assume," Gold said softly - almost a hiss, really.

Lacey nodded, her mouth suddenly dry. How had she heard so much about this man, and yet no one had even hinted that Gold had this kind of... presence. The kind that warned of danger and that, before she'd been shoved into responsibility for something other than herself, had drawn her in like a moth to the flame. But she couldn't risk getting burned now. Remembering herself, Lacey swallowed and looked away from Gold. Any stray thought about this moment would henceforth be blamed on the crazy pregnant hormones. "Just fine!" she yelled back, hoping the delay didn't mean Karl would sweep in, kitchen knife in hand again.

She breathed in relief when a grunt let her know he understood.

"He your boyfriend?" Gold asked. "He... He and you...?" He waved to her belly, his eyes hard and his mouth pressed into a thin line.

Lacey drew herself upright at the anger in his voice. He had no room to judge! "And what if he is, and we did?"

His cheeks went red.

It was Sheriff Swan who broke the awkward tension. "Okay, later the two of you will thank God I was here. Do you always make such a muddle of things when you're alone?" She only grinned as both Lacey and Gold scowled at her. "Look, Gold. Take it from someone who's been there. She must be at least four months along."

"Eighteen weeks," Lacey corrected, aware of the count to the minute, after spending so many hours trying to pinpoint what - or who, apparently - she'd been doing in that timeframe. It was depressing to admit that she had no idea who the father was, but she didn't feel comfortable pointing fingers at any of the guys with whom she usually hung out, and since she didn't actually remember doing the deed, then there was no point to it anyway. "I'm due in November."

If Gold had looked a little pale when he'd first arrived, now his face was stark white. "Eighteen...."

"Yup." The sheriff was grinning. "Wait until Neal finds out. He's gonna hit the roof."

Lacey would have asked who this Neal was, but Gold looked dazed enough that she got worried for his health. "Hey," she said, advancing toward him before she could tell herself not to. She even put her hand on his shoulder in a supportive gesture, as if the legendary Mr. Gold needed any support. Reckless, see? Boldly going where nobody had asked her to, and probably getting her hand bitten off as a result. But to her surprise, Gold didn't shake her touch away. Instead he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay," he said, "I'm okay now."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, Miss French." And he really looked improved. His smile was sincere, now, his eyes shining with... happiness? "Now, if I may trouble you with a cup of tea? And one for yourself, please. Perhaps even a piece of that cake for each of us; you look like you have something of a sweet tooth." She did, but she was in the middle of her shift. She really couldn't.... As if he'd sensed her refusal, Gold continued, "We really came to you for an important reason."

"Which is....?"

He patted the hand at his shoulder. "Well, if you're that curious - and I have the feeling you are - I'm sure you can afford to spend a couple minutes with us and a hot beverage."

"Is this blackmail, Mr. Gold?" she asked, but she couldn't help the accompanying grin.

"A bribe would be the correct term," he responded easily, as if he was used to such accusations. "Since you will be sitting down and enjoying some of this food instead of serving it."

"Gold?" the sheriff cut in, giving Gold a hard look, "I thought we were going to wait until we were back in Storybrooke before we... had drinks."

Gold just smiled back. "Miss Swan, you've done your part by getting me here. Now kindly let us enjoy some tea." Then, to Lacey, "Go, dearie. We will be right here."

Lacey sensed that the two of them would get into an argument as soon as she stepped away. Indeed, when she'd walked a few yards away and turned around, sheriff and landlord were scowling at each other. Of all things, the object of contention seemed to be the thin vial of blue liquid in Goild's hand. "They're so weird," she whispered to herself, but shrugged it off.

It wasn't as if they'd be around for long. 

It was a pity. Gold was the first man who'd even seemed interesting in months, and the sheriff at least had a sense of humor (more than what Lacey could say for most of her fellow waitresses), but whatever her future was, she refused to find it back in Storybrooke.

She'd listen to this very important news they wanted to share, and then she'd decline whatever job offer they had for her (she'd decided that's what this was about, with her father pulling strings to get her a more comfortable situation) and wave them away and out of her life.

And she'd never see them again.

 

The End  
12/06/16


End file.
